The Illustrated Coffins of the Happy Journey Collective

Introducing the Happy Journey Collective, “a collective project showcasing an ongoing selection of coffin artworks by the finest illustrators and artists from around the globe.”

Illustrator Kate Slater, who created the piece shown above, is one of a growing list of contributors to the collection of unique work on the site, and was generous enough to tell us more about the group:

EFII:  How and why did Happy Journey start?

Kate Slater: It began with a conversation on Twitter between Thereza Rowe, Lesley Barnes and Abi Daker. Customised coffins actually exist, but they’re covered in bland, stock imagery. Theresa, Lesley and Abi came up with the idea to illustrate their own and invite other artists and illustrators to take part too! I met Theresa recently and she asked me if I’d like to have a go.

EFII:  What is it about the subject matter that inspired you to Illustrate it?

KS: The brief was very free, the illustration could be absolutely anything as long as it fit within the diamond box template. I was inspired by a Thomas Hardy poem, ”Transformations”,  which describes wonderful metamorphosis in the reality of death and burial. The whole idea of ‘Happy Journey’ made me laugh and I wanted to create something joyful and celebratory rather than mournful.

EFII:  How can artists get involved, and what’s your criteria for including someone’s work on the main site?

KS: The site is run by Thereza, Lesley and Abi and they have a Flickr group for open submissions http://www.flickr.com/groups/happyjourneycollective/ and you can download the brief and template from the Happy Journey website.

Thanks to Kate Slater for her time.  Check out the Happy Journey Collective here.

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